


First Date

by LacePendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: First Date, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacePendragon/pseuds/LacePendragon
Summary: Amidst the falling snow in the mid-winter of Vale, Qrow and James have their first date. Too bad their friends decide to crash the party.





	First Date

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written May 4th, 2017. Reposted October 31st, 2018. Happy Halloween.

Qrow stared in front of the mirror far longer than he should have as he tried to decide what to wear on his date. His coat, obviously, and clothes, _obviously_ , but, beyond that, he had no idea. And it wasn’t as though he could ask his team for help, considering they’d all mysteriously vanished an hour ago.

Qrow wasn’t suspicious. Not at _all._

So he stared at the mirror and squinted at his outfit, trying to decide if it was appropriate or not. He wore a charcoal grey button-down shirt with red accents on the shoulders that mimicked his cape, a pair of black pants that he had ironed the lines in to, and a black leather jacket that was lined so he could wear it in the winter weather.

All in all, it wasn’t that different from his usual attire, but it was just different enough to make it obvious that he was trying. And god, was he trying. For a guy in his third year at Beacon Academy and a few months shy of twenty, he’d never been on a proper date before. Sure, he’d had a lot of one night stands and backroom encounters – more than he would _ever_ admit to James, should he ask – but proper dates at fancy restaurants?

Not in his repertoire.

That left him floundering as he tried to figure out if he should style his hair or leave it down, if he should slick it back or slick it forward or do _something_ to it. If he should wear all his shiny bits and bobs or leave most of them behind, or if he should only wear a few and, if so, which few.

And he was alone, which was never a good combination when he was this nervous and this unsure, but, well, he didn’t really have a choice. His team wasn’t picking up their scrolls or reading his texts, so they were probably having sex somewhere, and Qrow really didn’t need to think about that.

He sighed and smoothed his hair back with one hand, grimacing as it fell back in his eyes. A moment later, his scroll went off, alerting him to the alarm he’d set the day before.

It was time to go.

Casting one last glance at the mirror and whispering a prayer to every deity he knew the name of – and a few he didn’t – Qrow pocketed his scroll and headed out of the dorms and toward Vale, where he was supposed to meet James at a local coffee shop.

The entire way there, Qrow couldn’t stop thinking about all the possible ways this could go horribly, horribly wrong. By the time he got to the coffee shop, he had shoved his hands in his jacket so as to not show off the trembling in his fingers, and when he spied James waiting for him at the coffee shop, he nearly bolted then and there.

He liked James a _lot_ , and the fact that he could royally screw up a two-year friendship in a singular date – a two-year friendship that meant the world to him – made him wish he’d never gotten up that morning.

Qrow wasn’t usually anxious. He was a suave, confident guy, but James meant a lot to him, and so did not fucking this up.

“Qrow!” called James, his smile and voice bright as he spotted Qrow. Qrow lifted his hand and waved back, managing a smile back at James. He stuffed his hand back in his pocket and scurried over to James, dodging puddles made up of slush and icy water.

“Hey,” said Qrow, ducking his head under the awning to stand nearer to James. He grinned up at James, cheeks rosy from the cold and anxiety dancing along his veins. “How’s uh, how’s it going?” he asked. He fought a grimace at the stumble in his words.

James smiled, seemingly oblivious to Qrow’s nerves, or else politely ignoring them. “Good,” he said. He slipped an arm around Qrow, resting his hand on the small of Qrow’s back, and led him down the street toward the restaurant they were eating at. “Come on, lunch is in ten minutes.”

Qrow nodded and followed James. In the busy winter streets, two weeks before the holidays began properly, they didn’t speak much. Qrow regretted wearing only his leather jacket, even if it was supposedly weather-resistant, and hunched his shoulders to try and keep warm. James had dressed much more appropriately, with a nice, dark blue winter coat that was more slimming than bulky, a pair of earmuffs, and a striped scarf.

Needless to say, Qrow was feeling a little jealous.

Soon enough, though, they reached the restaurant and Qrow and James took their seats in a booth in the corner. They’d just ordered drinks when Qrow heard a snicker.

He glanced behind himself, and, sure enough, there was the rest of his team, looking rather pleased with themselves. Qrow groaned and slid down in his seat, grimacing when he saw James’ expression.

“What are you…?” started James, then, he seemed to spot the rest of Team STRQ. He smiled and waved at them. “Your team is here on a date, too?” he asked Qrow.

Qrow bit the inside of his cheek and shrugged inwardly. “Sure,” he said. “Why not?”

Qrow studied the menu for the restaurant and swallowed when he saw the prices. He wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to afford a place like this, but hey, it was worth it to be able to impress James. Of course, James had picked the restaurant, but Qrow had agreed. That had to count for something, right?

“You know, you never did tell me about how that weapon worked,” said James. Qrow frowned and cocked his head at James. “The girl from Vacuo, the one who had the… what was it, assault rifle, crossbow, rocket launcher combo?” asked James. He lifted his eyebrows at Qrow and Qrow laughed.

He started in on his theoretical explanation for the strange weapon, cross-referencing the other weapons of the girl’s team the best he could. There was definitely a theme amongst them, he’d noticed, and as he explained it all to James, he felt himself relax.

The two talked weapons and theories for so long that their food arrived and Qrow was halfway through eating his pasta when things started to go… strange.

For starters, they were given champagne.

“I didn’t order this,” said James, frowning at it.

“From the three at the table, sir,” said the waiter. Taiyang, Summer, and Raven waved from where they were sitting Qrow groaned and put his head in his hands. The waiter left the champagne on the table and walked away.

“Are you all right, Qrow?” asked James. He reached across the table and took Qrow’s hand. Qrow felt his heart rate skyrocket and smiled, tangling his fingers with James’.

“Fine,” he said, just fine.

When the bill came, James paid, to Qrow’s protests, and the two left the restaurant, Qrow on James’ left side. By then, snow clouds had covered the sky, basking it in perpetually cloudy twilight instead of mid-day.

James reached out and took Qrow’s hand, and Qrow smiled, squeezing it in return as they walked down the street together. It was even colder now, and Qrow wanted to find somewhere to sit inside, but before he could tell James that, Summer, Raven, and Taiyang all appeared in front of them.

“Hi, guys!” said Summer, perkily. Qrow forced himself not to groan in response. “Mind if we walk back to Beacon with you?”

“Of course not,” said James. “By all means.” Qrow bit his tongue to keep himself from saying something rude. He glared at Summer as she fell into step next to Qrow, but she only smiled in return at him.

The whole trip back, Taiyang and Summer kept James’ attention. They asked him about Atlas, about Solitas, about his team, his fighting style, everything they possibly could. With the tournament coming up once more, Qrow could see why they’d do that, but he still wasn’t fond on the intrusion.

And yes, James was beautiful when he got excited, his face lighting up and free hand flying to try and keep up with his words, but Qrow was still a little salty.

Eventually, the five got back to the dorms and Taiyang, Summer, and Raven all disappeared into the dorm. James and Qrow stood outside the closed door, finally alone for a few minutes.

“Sorry about all this,” said Qrow, his bitterness seeping into his words.

James let out a soft laugh. “That was fantastic, Qrow. Your friends are quite the characters.” Qrow shrugged. James smiled at him and reached up to lift Qrow’s chin with one of his gloved hands. “I liked them,” said James. “And I liked this, too.”

Qrow smiled. “I did too,” he said. And that was true. Despite everything that had happened today, he actually had enjoyed himself. The lunch, the walk, even being with his teammates while he and James held hands. It had felt nice. More than that, it had felt _right._

“I’d like to do this again, before I leave,” said James.

“Me too,” said Qrow. He hesitated a moment longer, then lifted his head and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of James’ mouth. James went scarlet and gave him a sheepish smile. They said their goodbyes and Qrow disappeared into his dorm.

He leaned against the door once it had closed and let out a soft sigh, his fingers ghosting over his lips. A moment later, cheers and whistles went up through the room and a pillow smacked him in the face.

Qrow grabbed the pillow and launched himself at his team. Yeah, maybe his date had gone well, but they were _so_ going to pay for interrupting it.


End file.
